One More Hero
by Super Nintendo Power
Summary: Little does Iruka know that he shall help a bitter, lonely boy become a man.


It was a beautiful day in Konoha. Iruka thought. Far too often into his own lecture, he caught himself glancing outside. Spring had arrived, bringing with it colorful flowers. It had been a rather cold winter by Fire Country standards, although it had not snowed at all, much to Iruka's disappoint.

In these times of peace, the students were much rowdier then Iruka had been at that age, at least, that is what he liked to tell himself. Shikamaru Nara was taking advantage of the warm weather had opened the window before dozing off. Kiba Inuzuka, who was sitting behind him, was throwing wadded balls of paper into the back of his head. Whether Shikamaru was ignoring him, or simply didn't even notice, Iruka couldn't tell.

On the other side of the room, Sasuke Uchiha, normally extremely attentive, was absentmindedly doodling on a piece of parchment. Hinata Hyuuga, who was sitting next to him, looked rather drowzy. She was staring right at Iruka, but he knew that she was not taking in a word he said. Or rather, he thought so. Hyuuga eyes were rather difficult to read, as they had no pupils. Iruka recalled that most Hyuuga's he had ever taught typically seemed rather aloof. Perhaps he was just being paranoid.

It took a good few seconds to realize that had lost his focus on the lesson. Iruka stood up straight: Not a single student noticed that he had stopped talking. He sighed. He prepared himself to launch back into the lecture, when suddenly a ANBU jumped through the window.

This woke up the kids up. Sasuke had stopped drawing, the girls had stopped giggling, and even Shikamaru had risen his head. Iruka silently thanked whoever had sent the man before he turned to face him.

"Yes? What is it?"

"The Hokage wishes to see you." He said. Iruka's eyebrows furrowed. A meeting? With the Hokage? Now of all times?

"I am in the middle of a lesson. I will see the Hokage after I am through for the day." Iruka told the man firmly.

"The Lord Hokage was very adament that you go to see him immediately."

"I see." Avoiding a direct summons from the Hokage, the most powerful man in the village, would not end well for Iruka, whatever the reasons. He turned back to the class.

"Alright, you lot!" He said. "I'll be back soon." The students stared blankly at him. Iruka sighed. The day kept getting worse and worse.

"Tell you what." He said. "you can take a break and go outside if you want-"

The Students, in unison, leapt to their feet and barrelled for the door.

"And be back in an hour!" Iruka hollered. "It shouldn't take too long!"

...

Iruka expected to be forced to wait in a room while he waited for the Hokage to invite him inside, but he was surprised to find that he was immediatly told that the Hokage was ready for him. It either must not be a particulary rushed day, or there was something very serious about to be discussed.

Iruke stepped inside the office. He had been in here several times before, but he could not resist the urge to look around. The Paintings of the past Hokages (And a photo of the fourth, as he had died before he could be painted) hung alone on one wall. Iruka stepped forward to the fourth himself, who was, as usual, sitting behind his humongous desk.

"Ah, Iruka." The Hokage said, as he got to his feet. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, sir." Iruka said, as he sat in the uncomfortably small wooden chair facing the Hokage's desk. He rather felt like a child again, about to be punished be the Master of the Academy for a misdeed.

"So, Iruka." The Hokage said, folding his hands together and lying them on the table. "How are your students?"

It never failed to amaze Iruka how the Hokage could keep track of everyone under his command. He seemed to know every soldier's strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, family, and future aspirations. He certainly knew of Iruka's love of teaching, and quite a bit about Iruka himself. Much more then Iruka himself knew of him, anyway.

"Yes, they are shaping up very well." Iruka responded. "Very well, indeed. Although, If I may, I'm rather concerned about the students without a family history in Ninjutsu."

"Oh?"

"I feel that the course the academy sets for us is far too strong on theory and history, and not enough on more practical things." Iruka explained. "I've recently gone through reports of missions, and I've done the math. Genin fresh from the academy have a much higher survival and success rate, if they have relatives who have served before."

"Hm. And why is that?" The Hokage probed.

"I believe that these students are more prepared for warfare if they have someone to discuss it with them." Irka said. "I've spoken with a few parents, of both clans and normal civilians. The ones from clans make it a huge deal to speak with the child about what they are getting into. The Civilians choose to stay out of it, believing that, as they know nothing, it would be better for them to stay out of the way."

"Personally, I agree with you." The Hokage said, leaning back in his chair. "But I ask you: What can we do about it?"

"I don't know yet." Iruka confessed. "I'm thinking about requesting more guest speakers, but I'm afraid I don't know anyone who could appeal to all of these kids."

"Hm." The Hokage said, in silence. "What were you saying about, 'more practical things?"

"Oh! Yes, well, I also noticed that kids from military backgrounds tend to go out of their way to learn more techniques and use different kinds of weapons then those taught by the academy. I think it must be the influence of the families, but I'm not sure how to replicate it to get more kids interested in coming up with their own fighting styles."

"Iruka, I believe your heart to be in the right place." The Hokage said. "But I feel that you should come up with your own teaching style, not do your best to imitate others."

Iruka was rather taken aback. "Uh, thank you, Lord Hokage. I'll keep that in mind."

"Now, Iruka, I think it prudent to move on to the matters I called you here for." The Hokage said, as he opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a thick file. He handed it to Iruka. "What do you know about Naruto Uzamaki?"

Iruka was so surprised, he froze. He lay the folder on the table without opening it, and looked at the Hokage. "Why?"

"We'll get to that in a minute. Tell me. What do you know of the boy?"

"Well," Iruke said, as he strained his memory. "I first met him two years ago. He had somehow gotten into the Academy at the age of seven. Most don't enroll into at least nine, but he had someone powerful get him in, although he could not pay the tuition."

The Hokage was staring at Iruka. Iruka was starting to feel rather nervous.

"He was not at all sociable. He did everything he could to stay away from other people." A memory of one of the few times he had heard Naruto speak suddenly popped into his head. "He did not like being touched." He told the Hokage. "Or being prodded to do he didn't feel like writing something down, or paying attention, or doing pushups, he simply didn't do it."

The Hokage had pulled out his pipe, and was smoking. Iruka was of the impression that the Hokage was extremely nervous.

"He was stubborn, lazy, and liked to be left alone." Iruka said. "We had dozens of problems with him. He was not willing to cooperate with us at all. and in the end, I suggested he leave the academy for a while, and grew up a bit. My collegues agreed, and he left the academy and I have never seen him since."

"I see." The Hokage coughed. "Very interesting."

"Sir?"

"Out of all the people I have discussed him with, you are the only one who did not mentione the Kyuubi."

Iruka stiffened. It was rather a habitual thing. You do not just bring up the Kyuubi in casual conversation. It was a rather forbidden topic.

"I didn't think that was important, sir." Iruka offered. "I knew him as a student, not as a demon. I have nothing to say about the Kyuubi, so I did not mention it."

"I see." The Hokage said. The two lapsed into silence. It was fairly awkward.

"Iruka, Naruto's behavior as of late troubles me. Very much so." The Hokage said.

Iruka felt a brief wave of panic. Could this be the Kyuubi's doing?

"He is, as you said, a very unsocial child. In fact, he is far beyond unhealthily so." The Hokage sighed. He seemed worn out. "I am, admittedly, at my wit's end of what to do with him."

"What about the people at his orphanage?" Iruka suggested. "What do they think?"

"They kicked him out years ago." The Hokage said. "I arranged for Naruto to have his own private apartment, and-"

"Wait. You allowed them to abandon a child in the streets?" Iruka had never heard of such a thing before. "That's inhumane!"

"Perhaps so." The Hokage agreed. "But the Orphanage felt that allowing a demon container so near other children was far too much of a risk. If Naruto was bullied at all, like all children are, they felt that he might tap into his demonic Chakra."

Iruka felt there was far more to this story, but the Hokage was not going to elaborate any further. "He has been living alone ever since?"

"Yes." The Hokage nodded. "But that, I believe, has little to do with the problem at hand."

"And what is his problem?"

"The fact that he does not wish to become a Ninja."

Iruka tapped his fingers on the desk. He was starting to become antsy. "How is that a problem?" He said, after a slight pause. "It's his choice, isn't it?"

"Well, yes." The Hokage said. "You are not proficent in any Advanced Sealing arts, I presume?"

"No, sir." Iruka answered.

"The Seal the Fourth designed," The Hokage began, "was made with the assumption that the container, namely, Naruto would begin to tap into the Demon's energy, whether by accident or on purpose. The seal is designed to deteriote inch by inch over time."

"What!" Iruka shrieked, as he leapt to his feet. "Do you mean he's a walking time bomb?"

"No." The Hokage said, firmly. "Calm yourself. The seal is designed to keep back the majority of the demon's Chakra. As Naruto grows, more and more of the Chakra will seep out into his body."

"So... what does this mean?"

"It means that if Naruto does not train himself to be a Ninja, his Chakra coils will explode, almost certainly killing him, and perhaps allowing the Fox to escape."

It was an interesting thought. And yet, one aspect of this story still eluded Iruka.

"Why am I being told this, Sir?"

"I wish for you to get to know Naruto. I, myself, often find myself baffled by him."

"Why me?"

"He told me once you were the only instructor at the academy he didn't hate." The Hokage said, with a small smile.

...

The two left the tower, and took to the streets on their way to Naruto's apartment. Iruka, usually rather shy, was rather taken aback by the respect the people on the street were showing to the Hokage, and as Iruka was with him, Iruka himself. Carpenters stopped their work and waved, a couple from a bakery, stopped their work for a moment to bow, kids amused themselves by running with and around them. The Hokage took it all in stride, smiling and nodding at everyone who crossed his path. A rather pretty woman, smiled at Iruka. He blushed, and offered a feeble smile in return. All this attention really ruined one's game.

After what seemed like an eternity, they had arrived near to their destination. It was off the beaten path, and so not many people were around.

"Sir, why are walking?"

"Ah, that's right." The Hokage said. "I forgot to mention. If you spend any amount of time around Naruto, you begin to pick up on his little quirks."

"Quirks?"

"Yes. If you rush to his house, he might notice and panic. It is best we stay on his good side today, as he doesn't know you very well."

Iruka's head was swimming. It was just a little much. "He thinks running to his house is rude?"

"Well, not rude, precisely." The Hokage says. "He simply feels that if anyone wants him badly enough to waste energy to rush to his house, something that he won't like will occur."

"You don't say." Iruka said.

...

The Hokage knocked on Naruto's door, three solid taps. There was no answer.

"Perhaps he's not home?" Iruka offered.

"I'm sure he is." The Hokage said, frowning. "He doesn't like strangers though. He may not recognize you." He raised his voice a little. "Naruto! It is I."

There was still no answer.

The Hokage's frown deepened. He knocked again. "Naruto-"

"No." A small voice said, from the other side of the door.

The Hokage sighed. "Naruto, why not?"

"I hate strangers. Make him go away."

"Naruto, this is Iruka. You do remember him, do you not?"

The voice did not answer. "Naruto?"

"I remember." He said slowly. "Why is he here?"

"He wants to speak with you, Naruto." The Hokage said kindly.

"Why?"

"Naruto, do you really mean for us to discuss this outside? It's rude, you know."

"I don't believe in manners." The boy said. This time, his force was much more firm. "They are nothing more then an expectation society uses to try and control us all." Iruka was of the impression that this was an ongoing argument.

"Naruto-" THe Hokage began, but then Iruka cut in.

"Naruto, you trust the Hokage, don't you?" He said.

Silence.

"Yes." He sounded somewhat resentful, as if he was disappointed in that particular truth.

"And the Hokage trusts me, doesn't he?"

"Don't know."

"Yes, I do."

"Then, we are all friends here, no?" Iruka said. "There's no reason to keep us out, Naruto."

Again, no one spoke. Then, the sound of several latches being pulled, one after the other, filled the air. The door opened.

Facing them stood the most filthy child Iruka had ever seen. His hair, despite the vibrant blonde color, looked absolutely disgusting. It seemed that the filth that was built into it made his hair stand up on end. His mouth was covered in bright red stains, and his plain white shirt had many of the same stains near the front. It looked like it had not been washed in quite some time.

"Naruto." The Hokage said, sternly. "What have I told you about keeping youself clean?"

"Can't, water's out." He said. His voice seemed somehow evasive. The kid was a horrible liar.

"Naruto. Don't lie to me."

Iruka, sensing trouble, decided to butt in. "OF course, Naruto, we have things to discuss with you." He said. "We'd like to make this quick."

Naruto spent quite some time staring at him. Iruka was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "What is it?"

The two were led inside, and Iruka could not help but notice that the apartment was in even worse shape then it's owner. Pots were overflowing the kitchen sink, stains adorned the floors, his furniture looked worn and beat up, and dust covered everything.

"Naruto." The Old man said, as he sat down on the couch. Iruka quickly made sure that nothing that would stain his own clothing before doing the same. Naruto chose to remain standing. He chose to lean up against the door. Iruka wondered why. He was at quite a distance from them.

Naruto stared at the Hokage. "I'd think it would be best if you told Iruka a bit about yourself." The Hokage said smoothly.

Iruka expected the boy to refuse once more, but he found himself surprised by the boy's fervent answer.

"I am Naruto Uzamaki. I want to do nothing more with my life then to stay inside and watch anime and play video games."

Iruka, being a teacher of Shinobi, was rather used to bold proclamations on what a child wished to do with his life. Whether it was to become the best Hokage in history, or to make someone they knew proud, children were not afraid to share their ideas about the world to someone who would listen.

And yet, this one took the cake for being utter insanity.

"How about your dislikes, Naruto?" The old man asked.

"Oh, I hate everyone." Naruto said. "Everyone in this village is a bully and a thief."

He was glaring at Iruka as he said this, as if making sure that he was listening.

"Anyway, go away. I'm busy." Naruto finished. He turned around and left the room. The Hokage turned to Iruka and mouthed 'he'll be back.' Iruka nodded.

A few minutes later, Naruto barged into the room. "I told you to leave!" He snapped. "Old man, if you don't leave right now, I will not let you in ever again!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto." The Hokage said, as he raised his hands. "I'll be leaving shortly, however, there is something I need to inform you of."

Naruto looked suspicously at the Hokage. Iruka rather got the impression that Naruto's curiousity was getting the better of him.

"Iruka here has agreed to meet with you every day, just to talk."

Naruto stared at the old man, again silent.

"I am still teaching at the Academy, so I won't be availble until after it closes for the day." Iruka said. "So I-"

"No, I'm busy." Naruto said, with the air of someone who had just made an important decision.

"Doing what, Naruto?" The Hokage asked.

Naruto looked rather embarrassed.

"I... Uh, do stuff... during that time..." Naruto said, as he shuffled his feet. He was lying again.

"Naruto, I am asking you to put aside a few minutes of your day to speak with Iruka." The Hokage said. "You can surely manage that, can't you?"

"No." Naruto said. "No, I can't." And with that, he flounced off.

The Hokage turned to Iruka. "It seems to be me that he's annoyed with right now." He stood, as he stood. "We take our leave, now."

Iruka stood as well, and the two exited the building. Immediately after they had stepped out, Iruka heard the latches on the door fastening, as if the boy on the other side was anxious to keep the world out.

"So, Iruka, he knows you're coming, so I see no harm in going to see him tomorrow, as planned." The Hokage said, as they walked off down the street. "Tell me, what did you think of him?"

Iruka thought for a while. "Actually, I have no idea." He said softly. "I need some more time to get to know him." He rubbed his head. "This could take a while."

...

Throughout the week, Iruka kept his promise to the Hokage by checking in on Naruto every day. After each and every visit, Iruka felt that he understood even less about the boy, and always wondered if he was even going about this the right way.

Every day after he dismissed his students for the day, Iruka had a quick snack, usually an apple or a granola bar, and walked towards Naruto's house, munching all the way. Eating on the go prevented Iruka from rushing towards Naruto's house. Iruka had realized very quickly that the Hokage was not joking about Naruto's aversion to people who seemed like they were in a hurry. Two days after he had met with him, he had hit the rooftops, leaping and bounding over the streets, before he recalled the Hokages warning. He landed on the street a block away from Naruto's house and walked the rest of the way.

He did not open the door. Iruka knocked for fifteen minutes, but there was not a sound to be heard inside. Feeling foolish, Iruka decided that he was out, and to take the matter to the Hokage.

"Ah, Iruka." The Hokage said, after Iruka had told him this story. "Naruto is hardly ever 'out' at least not during the day. You must have done something to offend him.

Iruka quickly protested that he had not even seen Naruto, leave alone any sort of action that could possibly have offended him. But the Hokage cut in quickly, in order to correct Iruka's thinking.

"Iruka, you will learn quickly that Naruto is very quick to go on the defensive from anything he perceives as rude." The Hokage said. "And yet, his idea of what qualifies as rude is... well, it's different. I'll give him that."

Iruka was asked about what he had done before seeing Naruto in greater detail, and he complied.

"I suppose..." The Hokage said thoughtfully. "That he saw you jumping around and knew that you were coming to see him, and panicked."

Iruka protested this, as he had kept a distance from the building, being sure that Naruto could not have possibly seen him, as there were several buildings in the way of his line of sight.

"Perhaps he is just not comfortable with you yet." The Hokage said, thoughtfully. "Or perhaps he thought you were sweating a bit too much, and breathing a bit too hard when he came to answer the door."

Was the kid really that observant?

"The only thing you can do is continue trying." The Hokage said. "He will speak with you eventually, as he will try to convince you to leave him alone. Then, you can try learning more about him, and learn more ways to gain his trust."

It was not this simple. Iruka went back to Naruto's building immediatly, and although Naruto chose to answer the door, he refused to allow Iruka inside. Iruka decided then that it was best to not push him. After exchanging plesantries, Iruka said good bye and walked off.

Iruka's plan of action, for now, was to take it slowly. It was clear from Naruto's lifestyle and the Hokage's treatment of him that Naruto was extremely averse to any sort of social contact. Although the Hokage had given him the folder kept on Naruto, he had only flipped through it. It did not really matter what a bunch of other people thought of Naruto, and how his bills were paid, or what his scores at the academy were like. What Iruka cared about at the moment was allowing Naruto to explain what he thought of those things.

And yet, the goal was starting to look more and more difficult with each passing day.

Iruka, on a whim, asked Naruto what kind of weather he liked. It was a beautiful, warm day, and as they exchanged the exact identical conversation they had shared for the past two days, Iruka felt the almost insatiable urge to shake him up, and force another answer out of his lips.

Naruto looked rather surprised for a moment. His eyes widened, and he looked down into the ground. At first Iruka thought he had annoyed Naruto again. He hastened to come up with an apology that would placate him, but before he could, Naruto spoke.

"I like the rain." He said softly, his eyes still on the ground. Iruka stood there for a moment, staring at him. He did not look up. And then the truth hit Iruka like a sack of bricks.

He was thinking.

Iruka, still rather bothered by this, troubled the Hokage with another visit, and told him of this.

"He stood there for like, at least a minute." Iruka informed the Hokage. "I thought I had troubled him for a moment, but it turned out he was considering my answer."

"Really?" The Hokage asked. "That's interesting."

"I suppose it seems strange, relating this all to you." Iruka said. "But it rather bothered me. I asked something he should be able know, that is, something he likes, and he acted like he had never heard of such a thing before."

"Perhaps he didn't." The Hokage said. "Iruka, you must remember: Naruto has never had anyone to show him the beauty of nature. He has quite possibly never even noticed such a thing before."

HIs spirits raised by this, Iruka made an effort to ask Naruto more personal questions, most that he came up with on the spot. Do you like Flowers, Naruto? Perhaps you should keep a garden. No, I haven't. You could check out a Flower shop, they could tell you what to do.

It was not until much later, as he was leaving Naruto on his doorstep, that he realized that he had had an actual conversation with Naruto.

"You suggested a garden?" The Hokage chuckled, as he poured Iruka a cup of tea. Iruka was of the impression that the Hokage was beginning to enjoy Iruka's visits, as they kept him away from his work for a few minutes at a time. "What did he say?"

"I actually think he was considering it." Iruka said, smiling. "I've never kept a garden myself, so I told him to ask around town, in Flower shops."

"Very interesting. That is good. Very good." The Hokage said. He was obviously pleased. Iruka's smile widened. Things were looking up.

The Next day, Iruka found himself distracted during his lessons again. His focus was elsewhere, it seemed. A few of his co-workers had asked him if anything was wrong, as he did not quite seem like himself. HIs students, however, teased him for not being as much a dictator as usual.

Iruka was fine, he was just extremely anxious to meet Naruto again. the challenge of getting to know him was infectious. Teaching other children was, by and large, rather dull in comparision.

After class had ended for the day, Iruka grabbed a Bananna staff room and unpeeled it as he walked out the door. He would have to learn to balance his students and Naruto, he mused. It simply would not do to continue teaching this way.

It was not a long walk. Iruka was beginning to enjoy strolling through the village like this. Most Konoha Shinobi preferred jumping across the rooftops. It was much quicker, and Iruka had the impression that most of his fellows did not like to take the time and appreciate the the beauty of the village.

Iruka tapped on Naruto's door, and the door opened almost immediately. "Hello, Naruto. You were rather quick."

"I saw you coming..." Naruto muttered.

The two stood there. Naruto was staring at the ground again, and Iruka could not keep his eyes away from him. "How is your garden, Naruto?" He asked.

"I don't have a garden." Naruto said. "I... Umm..." He seemed rather embarassed, all of a sudden. "Umm... I went to find some shops like you said, but there's no place open after dark."

Iruka was rather startled. "What did you say? Naruto, are you running around after curfew?" Staying out after hours was not a good idea at all in Konoha, especially for a civilian for little Ninja training. Quite a few of the less well disciplined shinobi were known for using their talents to prank, terrify, and fight people running around after dark. Such activity was techinically illegal, but as long as no permenent harm was issued, the perpetrators were typically allowed to remain in the service of Konoha, unpunished.

"Yes." Naruto said. "The sun hurts my eyes, and I don't like crowds."

Now that he mentioned it, Iruka noticed that he had a habit of squinting his eyes whenever he looked up.

"Naruto, you do know that that is extremely dangerous, don't you?" Iruka asked. He had gone into his disclipinary mode, almost by instinct.

"Nothing's happened yet." Naruto said. It was rather surprising how flippant he seemed of the whole ordeal.

"Naruto, what do you do after dark?"

Naruto frowned, as he looked down at the ground. He was thinking again. This time, Iruka felt that he wasn't thinking about what the answer was. He was thinking about if he should lie or not.

"I go out to get water every night." He said. "I like water. It's cool, and easy to drink." He spoke as if this was an incredibly clever thing to say. Iruka frowned, not at all distracted by his sense of humor.

"But Naruto, you have a sink and running water, don't you?" Iruka recalled the first and last time he had stepped inside Naruto's apartment, and recalled the sink filled with bowls and pots.

Naruto visibly flinched at this. "Oh... Ummm... No. My water's broken, and I'm not allowed the money to fix it."

Iruka knew enough about Naruto to know that he was being lied to, but his reasoning for doing so was eluding him, so far. "What's wrong with your water?"

"Nothing." Naruto said.

"You said it was broken." Iruka reminded him.

"Oh!" Naruto said. "I did say that."

He then did not say another word.

Iruka was becoming frustrated. He had no idea how to coax an answer out of Naruto, and had no idea why he would lie about his water supply.

"Well, maybe I could ask the Hokage if he could loan you the money to fix your pipes?" Iruka suggested. This was the wrong thing to say. Naruto's eyes flashed.

"No." He snapped. He was furious. "Don't you dare!"

Iruka realized that he had trodden on a sore spot, and quickly backpedaled. "I'm sorry, that was a silly suggestion." He had no idea why he was apologizing, or what he was apologizing for.

"It was." Naruto said. He then slammed the door in Iruka's face.

...

"His water?" The Hokage said.

"He says the pipes are broken." Iruka said. He shrugged. "I don't see any reason why he would be lying about that."

"But the village pays for everything in that apartment." The Hokage protested. "If anything was broken, all he would have to do is file a complaint."

"It is certainly odd." Iruke murmured. He pulled out the folder the Hokage had given him on Naruto's records and began thumbing through it. "It says here that although the Village pays, Naruto is in charge of handling all of the transacations?"

"The money comes out of the Village pockets, and Naruto can do with it as he pleases, yes." The Hokage said.

"Hmm..." Iruka flipped through medical records and other things of the sort before coming to Naruto's expenses page. Iruka thumbed down the page and looked at the most recent entry. "That's interesting."

"What is it?"

"Naruto's not paying for his water. They shut it off as a side effect."

"What!" The Hokage shrieked in surprise. "What... why?"

Iruka quickly compared numbers in his head as he looked over it all. "Wow. I don't believe it." He said, as he put the folder down. "He's doing a rather poor embezzling job."

"He's stealing money? How?"

"Rather poorly." Iruka said. "Look at this. He's cut off his water and heat expenses in order to pay for 'past times."

"Are you telling me." The Hokage said slowly. "That Naruto cut off his water supply in order to pay for his Video games?"

"It sure looks like it." Iruka said grimly, as he snapped the folder shut. "I'll have a chat with him about it tomorrow."

"You do that." The Hokage said faintly, as Iruka got to his feet.

...

Iruka knocked on the door, careful to not let his feelings show in his actions. If Naruto so much had received a hint that Iruka had figured out his little scam, he would almost surely refuse to answer.

The door opened, and the boy with his filthy blond hair and stained shirt stared at Iruka. "Iruka?" He said, confusion in his voice. "What's wrong?"

He was, Iruka was beginning to see, rather observant. Iruka took a deep breath and pulled out his folder. "Naruto, I'd like you to take a look at this." He said, as he opened the folder and pulled out the documents in question. "Are you any good with numbers?"

"Umm..." Naruto said. He seemed rather uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I guess." He said at last. He must have realized where this was going.

"I have here documented proof that you have embezzled several hundred dollars worth of money from the govenment of Konoha." Iruka said, as he tapped the folder folder with the paper. Naruto looked at him, his eyes wide and confused.

"What's... embezzled, mean?" He asked. Iruka sighed.

"It means that you have stolen money by manipulating the money given to you by the state." Iruka explained. It occured to him, with some faint amusement, that Naruto didn't even know the name of the crime he had committed.

"Huh?" Naruto said, as he tilted his head. "Are you telling me... that that's..." He hesitated for a second, and then pushed on. "Illegal?"

"Very." Iruka nodded. He was not prepared for the storm that followed.

'That's not true!" Naruto snapped. "That money is for me to do with as I see fit!"

"Yes, within reason." Iruka said. "But what you're doing is forgoing necessities in order to fuel some other project."

"Oh, that's ridiculous." Naruto scoffed. "I'm just cutting back on stuff that I don't use."

"Like water?" Iruka snapped. "Your water's completely shut off, Naruto, and I've noticed that your food expenses are much lower then they should be, as well."

"Well, I needed the money." Naruto argued. Iruka had never seen him so riled up before. "It was important."

"What was so important, Naruto?" Iruka asked, exasperated.

Naruto looked down at the ground. "Nothing." He said. Iruka stared at him. He was not going to answer.

"Did you really not know that this was illegal?" Iruka said softly. Naruto shook his head. Iruka believed that this time, he was telling the truth. "I am going to take you to the Hokage." He said. "And you are going to apologize."

Naruto lowered his head. "Now?"

"Yes, Naruto. Now."

This had to be done. Iruka grabbed Naruto and pulled him out into the street. He let go of him to close the door. Naruto simply stood there, staring at Iruka.

"Come on. Let's go." Iruka said. He started walking down the steps, only to turn around and frown. Naruto had not moved a step. "Naruto?" Iruka asked. His anger faded as he looked into Naruto's face. He looked outright terrified.

"I can't go now." He said. "There are people out there."

Iruka stared at him increduously. He was beginning to see just how far Naruto's anti social tendencies went. He was not just uncomfortable with going out onto the street in broad daylight. He was, for lack of a better word, absolutely terrified by the idea. His entire body was shaking. Iruka found himself moving forward, and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto." He said softly. "Look at me."

Naruto raised his head and looked into Iruka's eyes.

"I know you're not exactly comfortable with moving around in the sunlight." Iruka said. "But you can't run from your fears. Sooner or later you will have to face them."

Naruto looked down again. "The reason I lied about this..." He said slowly. Iruka had the impression he was holding back tears. "I thought the old man would be upset."

"I understand." Iruka said. "But what you did was wrong, and you must apologize for it."

Naruto did not say a word.

"Come on, Naruto. We mustn't keep the Hokage waiting. He is expecting us."

Naruto did not have the training necessary to do the feats of acrobatics required to take the Shinobi roads around town, and as Iruka, rather admittedly, was rather wary of the idea of carrying such a smelly child, they took to the main roads.

Naruto squinted his eyes as he grasped onto Iruka's jacket as they turned the corner into the main road.

It was the exact opposite of his trip down the road with the Hokage.

People refused to look at either of them as they went about their business. This was not ordinary of the behavior of the citizenry. Typically, when an older, more experienced Shinobi took to the streets, he could expect a respectful nod from those who appreciated what they were doing for the village.

With Naruto, however, there was a sort of icy apathy filling the air. Iruka could not help but turn his head around, ever so slightly, to have a look behind him. The few people he could see were staring at them, many of them whispering among themselves.

It was only natural, Iruka supposed. Naruto, as the Kyuubi Junchuuriki, had a sort of notoriority within the older members of the village. It was techincally illegal to refer to Naruto directly as the Container of the Fox, but yet people found ways around that. They always did.

Ignoring the stares and hushed whispers, Iruka led Naruto to the Hokage Tower, where the Third took office. As they walked past the doors and into the shade, Naruto released Iruka and looked around, blinking owlishly. He stepped in front of Iruka and muttered that it was rather clean.

"Of course it's clean." Iruka said. Anything could be considered clean compared to the animal hole that Naruto lived in. Iruka stepped forward to the front desk, as Naruto examined the gigantic fish tank, a favorite of children from the academy. It was filled with many colorful and exotic fish from around the world, and Naruto was captivated.

"Is the Hokage availible?" Iruka asked the desk lady, who was openly staring at Naruto, openmouthed as he pawed at the glass, in a cat like manner. "Excuse me." Iruka coughed.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Umm... No. He's seeing someone from Kirigakure."

"Mist?" Iruka exclaimed. "What are they sending envoys for?" The Village Hidden in the Mist, more commonly referred to as 'Kirigakure' was not at all on the best of terms with Konoha. Of course, it was nowhere near the scale of ridiculousness Iwakagure, but Mist was, by and large, not at all welcoming of the people of Leaf.

"That's the Hokage's business." She sniffed. Whatever her other faults, she was apparently not a gossip. "I suppose he will see you immediatly after he is finished though, as you obviously have an issue with..." She glared at Naruto. "That."

"I'll show myself to the waiting room, thank you." Iruka said coldly. As he turned around to beckon for Naruto to follow him, he could not help but recall how rude that woman could be in just a few sentences. What a bitch.

Naruto seemed rather reluctant to part ways with the fish. Although he seemed much calmed then when he had left home, a bit of the old fear was beginning to show on his face. Iruka could not blame him. Seeing a man as poweful as the Hokage, who literally could just as easily kill you with one hand tied behind his back as he could order someone else to do it for him, for the first time could be terrifying. Iruka recalled, with a tad bit of amusement, the first time he was called up here on his own, just a few weeks ago, in fact, to deal with Naruto. He was nervous then, but this time, he was more concerned with how Naruto would speak to the Hokage. This was his turf, so to speak.

As they neared the waiting room near the Hokage's office, the door suddenly barged open.

"Yes, thank you very much." The Woman said, as she backed up out of the door, bowing all the way. "My superiors will greatly appreciate your support. On behalf of my people, I thank you."

She shut the door, and turned around, fiddling around with the bright pink sunglasses on her forhead. Pretty she was, Iruka thought. Long black hair, lovely face, and a rather adorable nose. She was also a Kunochi, if the Mist symbol on the headband she was wearing around her neck were any indication.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. She seemed rather embarassed, as she looked from Naruto to Iruka. "Ummm... Hello!" She said brightly.

They had obviously taken her by surprise. Iruka grinned at her. "Ah, hello. It seems like your negiotations have paid off."

Her face brightened. "Yes! It went very well!"

Naruto nervously began fidgeting. Iruka did not miss the fact that he was staring right into her chest. She did not miss this either, but she seemed in a rather playful mood, as she leaned over and looked him in the eye. "Hello!" She chirped. "What are you doing up here, honey? Are you on a school trip?"

Naruto jumped and hid behind Iruka, nervously peering at her, as if she might reach out and attack.

"Oh, don't be like that." She pouted. She looked rather cute doing it.

"I'm sorry." Iruka said. "He doesn't really like strangers." He patted Naruto's head. It felt stiff and filthy, as if he had not had a shower in months. Which, Iruka quickly reminded himself, was probably the case.

"Ah." She said knowingly, as she bobbed her head. "I see. Well, kid." She went on, "Shyness isn't going to win you a woman's heart. As you of the Land of Fire say, you must have the Passion of Fire... yes?" She said, as she looked imploringly at Iruka. He laughed good naturedly.

"Good try, but it's 'The Will of Fire." Iruka said. "Excuse us, but we have an appointment with the Hokage, and I'd rather not keep him waiting."

"Of course!" She said, as she stepped aside. "Have fun, you two!"

Iruka smiled at her as he and Naruto stepped inside, Naruto craning his neck to get a good last look at her before Iruka grabbed him and dragged him the last few steps inside.

The Third Hokage, as usual, was sitting beside his desk.

"I've brought him, Lord Hokage." Iruka said, as he bowed. Hokage nodded at him, and looked towards Naruto. He didn't even look at him. He was too busy examining the walls.

"Yes, why don't you two have a seat." The Hokage said. "Now, what would you like-"

"I'm sorry for lying to you." Naruto said, tonelessly. He looked towards Iruka. "There. Let's go home." He stood up, and walked for the door.

Iruka sat speechless as Naruto stepped smartly into the hallway and shut the door behind hiim.

"He needs some more lessons in etiquette, it seems." The Hokage said. Iruka was still staring at the door. He had done what he been told to do, but he had done it so bluntly...

"I think you should go take Naruto home now." The Hokage said. "Tell him that he is forgiven, but he should cease all activities of the sort on the spot."

Iruka nodded, and got to his feet. As he followed Naruto towards the door, the Hokage called out his name?

"Yes?" Iruka said, as he turned around.

"He wouldn't have come here if he didn't trust you. Good job. Keep up the good work."

With that, Iruka left him.

...

It was dark by the time Iruka escorted Naruto to his building. As Naruto opened his door, Iruka felt that now was as good a time to ask him.

"Naruto, what did you spend the excess money on?"

"Stuff." Naruto said evasively.

"Can you show me?"

"Sure."

Iruka was taken aback. Naruto had just dodged a question, and had then immediatly complied to the same demand, with no fight at all. His logic was nearly alien in nature, it was rather disturbing. Naruto led Iruka inside and into the sitting room, where a gleaming machine sat next to the Television, surrounded by cases of video games, a wireless controller, and what looked like bowls of eaten food.

"A new video game system?" Iruka did not totally believe that their initial theory was correct, and yet here was the evidence.

"Yep." Naruto said, nodding. "And games."

As Naruto clearly did not have any human contact, these things were possibly his only real friends. Iruka was not a gamer himself, but many of his co-workers were. Most seemed hooked on puzzle games, however. Naruto's collection seemed to be comprised of several genres, from First person Adventures to third person shooters to one on one fighting games to games where the characters fought by taking turns.

"It's very nice." Iruka said, nodding. "But shouldn't you have gotten a job if you wanted all this stuff?"

"No." Naruto said.

"Why not?"

"No one will hire a kid." Naruto said. He sounded a tad bit bitter. "If people want random tasks done, they just hire talentless Ninja."

This was true. Iruka noted with some amusement. Konoha's economy relied heavily on the genin slave labor, and it had driven several people out of work.

"Perhaps you could become a Ninja yourself?" Iruka suggested lightly, trying to sound casual. "Benefits are great, and once you find a field you like-"

"No." Naruto said shortly. "I hate Ninja. I'd rather die then become one." He said this with the air of a boy who had made his mind about this topic long ago.

"Why?"

Naruto chose to ignore him. Iruka quickly decided that he pushed Naruto for far too long today, and hastily said his goodbyes. He would be back tomorrow.

...

Iruka was on the streets again, thinking about Naruto and his issues with becoming a ninja. Every memory of Naruto in the academy immediatlely came to mind. Perhaps that was what gave him his opinion on NInja? Or perhaps not. He had been bratty and stubborn the instand Iruka had met him, granted, and that led to not being treated as a favorite by the staff-

Iruka had run straight into someone as he thought, and a shriek filled the air as they both toppled to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Iruka said frantically. He had noticed a blur shooting past his face, and he looked around and saw a Pink pair of sunglasses lying next to him. He picked them up and turned to face the person he had run into.

"Fancy meeting you here." The Kirigakure Kunochi said cheekily as Iruka handed her the glasses back. She put back on her forhead, and grinned at him.

"It's nice to see you too." Iruka said. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name when we last met. I'm Iruka." He said, as he extended his hand.

"And I am called Takako." She said, as she grasped it. "Temporary messenger, full time Jounin."

"Charmed." Iruka said, as they parted hands. They got to their feet, and looked at each other. "So what are doing out here?" Iruka inquired. "Shouldn't you be going home?"

"Oh, I can wait." She said dismissively. "I have a hotel room. I'm set." She frowned. "Although, I have to admit, I can't seem to to able to find a good restaurant in this town." She giggled. "I can't cook, so I'd like a decent meal before I leave."

Iruka smiled. "There's a really nice ramen stand in town that I go to a lot. I can take you."

"That sounds nice." She said.

...

A/N: Alright, I'm going to break my traditional silence in order to update you all on the happenings in my life that affect this story.

This chapter was late, and had a poor ending due to the fact that I am sitting in a hotel room, miles away from home. I was forced to go to a baseball tournament, and I am not pleased. At all. It set me back from my, planned updates of once a day and it rather effected the quality of this chapter.

I will not be updating any more chapters until I arrive home. This will not be for another two days, so I ask you to be patient. I am sorry, truly, I am, but I can't write in this enviroment.

Since I do not like to use authors notes, as I feel they bog down and spoil the upcoming story, I might as well mention this. During the conceptualization if this story, I have had ideas that don't fit into the story. Whether they be contradicatory to past actions, statements, or just plain over the top, I do not feel they deserve to be included in the actual story.

However, some of these scenes are begging me to be written, so I suggest a compromise: Omakes. Once I reach a spot in the story I feel allows it, I will publish an omake along with the chapter in question. These scenes will not be canon. They are only for my amusement. I hope you enjoy them.

On another note, thank you all for the reviews. I have not gotten around to responding to all of you yet, but I will do it soon. I promise.

...

The room was dark. The only source of light came from the TV and the game console's power light. This was just the way Naruto liked it. It was much easier to believe you were a part of the game if nothing could distract you from it.

As Naruto fought off the invading Pirates alongside his devoted ingame followers, he wondered what the point of all this was. Was it going to lead to the discovery of his Long Lost Father? Or perhaps what his grandfather had done to his mother? Or perhaps there was a completely unknown faction at work here...

Naruto mashed the square button furiously as the handsome, muscular figure on screen clashed blades with a foul pirate with ratty clothes, foul teeth, and filthy skin. Slowly, the Pirate began to be pushed back by the sheer force of the man's will (And Naruto's trigger finger) when suddenly, the man disarmed the Pirate by slicing off his arms, then knocking him over the side of the boat where the Sharks devoured his flesh and bone, despite his tortured screams.

Suddenly, the screen flashed to the group of Heroes rushing towards the ship's side, where the other ship was sitting. And sitting there, on a humongous throne, sat the Statue of Malpercio, the Wicked God of ages past.

"What...?" Naruto blinked, as the Statue stood up, and began walking towards the group, shaking his ship in his wake. "No, No, nononononononononononononono . Stay Away!"

The Group turned to flee, but the Statue jumped over to the their ship, smashing it to pieces.

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!" Naruto wailed, as he ragained control over his character, he began dashing around the sinking ship, trying to discover a weak spot.

But this was not the sort of lousy, half assed, and boring boss fight that only required proper button presses when the icons popped up on screen. No, Naruto would have to think of a solution quickly, otherwise he would fail, and would have to replay the entire quest.

Naruto ignored the pleas for help from his men as he sought a way to destroy the beast, there had to be something on the boat that could knock it overboard or something.

He decided to investigate the other side of the ship, in order to stay farther away from the statue, but to do that, he would have to run past it very quickly, or else risk being smacked. He made sure his weapon was put away, and jammed the dash button as far as it would go.

The man took off like a rocket, and Naruto kept his eye on the statue. Any sudden moves would require an immediate change of plans...

A tapping sound came from out of the walls.

Naruto jumped twenty feet in the air as he looked wildly around for the source of the noise. His figure, unable to direct himself, simply stopped in his tracks and allowed the statue to beat him to death.

Naruto scowled as he saw this, but then the tapping started again, this time much more frequently. Naruto recognized the tapping now. It was his door. HIs door was being knocked on. This was how Iruka and the Hokage liked to announce their arrival.

He considered whether he should ignore Iruka today. Iruka had already wasted a few hours of his time the other day, and now he had ruined Naruto's progress for the last forty five minutes.

But if he didn't answer the door, Iruka would keep knocking. As knocking had already ruined his day, it was imperative to get it to stop. Even if that meant opening the door.

Naruto sighed as he got up. He had not been feeling very well lately, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Getting up had always been a chore, but now even sitting up and playing games wore him out.

He staggered towards the door, and peered out of the hole to be sure that it was Iruka. It was he. He looked much more happier then usual, which rather relieved Naruto. Iruka was typically bearable as long as he was pleased. Naruto did not want a repeat of what had happened yesterday.

Naruto opened the door, and Iruka smiled brightly at him. "Hello, Naruto!" He said, as he stepped inside smartly. What a dick. "How are you?"

Naruto fought with himself for a while, wondering if he should tell him to get lost or answer his question. "Fine."

"That's good." Iruka said, as he adjusted the bag he was carrying. "Look, I have something I think you'll like."

Naruto watched with some trepidation as Iruka reached into the bag and pulled out a black controller, one that was built to be used by the system Naruto had just bought.

"Ta da!" Iruka beamed. "I was going to get you a game, but I have to admit I have no idea what you would like, so I just thought I'd get you one of these instead."

Naruto was at a loss for words.

...

They spent a good deal of time going through all of Naruto's collection, playing multiplayer modes that Naruto didn't even know existed. Whether it was working together to stop a zombie outbreak, commanding forces in real time to attack an enemy base, or even command monsters to fight one another.

But one genre stood above all others.

One on One fighters.

They had fought using what had felt like every other character in the roster, and Naruto, who had previously had no trouble playing against the computer, was finding himself struggling against Iruka. The computer had a sort of pattern to it, which mostly depended on the character. Faster characters tended to favor quick, cheap combos and flee, while large, heavy characters tended to not use combos at all, preferring one hit smash attacks that raised their Limit meter.

But Iruka did not follow these tactics. Instead, he experimented. He quickly discovered that the fastest character in the game, Sonia, was more then capable of fluidly switching combos. This not only made her capable of destroying anything Naruto sent at her in a string of attacks, she also was able to bypass any defense Naruto set up.

For the first time, Naruto had to apply his knowledge of a fighting game in order to defeat a foe.

While he was thinking, however, Iruka moved his character selector to the burly man known as Baritsu.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, aghast. Since he had no way to defeat Sonia at this point in time, selecting another character seemed almost suicidal.

"I'm choosing another character." Iruka said.

"Why?" Naruto demanded. "You have a clear advantage over me, why are you forsaking that?"

"But Naruto." Iruka said, as he turned to face him. "If I keep using Sonia, then you will keep experimenting with ways on how to defeat her. If and when you discover a weakness, I will have lost my advantage. And then I will be forced to choose from all of these people, many of whom I don't know how to play as well."

Naruto stared at Iruka, his mouth open wide. Iruka chuckled. "Tactics, Naruto. It's sometimes more important to risk losing several small battles then to lose one big one."

And they played. And Naruto found, much to his frustration, that the character Iruka had picked had another cheap technique: Throws. Whenever tried to attack, Iruka would just sidestep and grab his arm, grapple with him (IN which Naruto would mash his buttons furiously trying to find a way to escape) before almost inevitably being slammed into the ground, taking out quite a bit of Naruto's HP.

"Nooooo-" Naruto wailed as his character stood up from the smash, only to collapse again from sheer exhaustion.

Iruka laughed, as he stood up. "That was fun, Naruto." He said. "You put up a good fight there." Naruto scowled at him, and that made Iruka chuckle again.

"Anyway, it is pretty late." Iruka said, as he checked his watch. "But I think I can spare the time to treat you to dinner."

Naruto stared at him. "No." He said. "Umm..." He shuffled his feet. "Maybe you can go and bring something back...?"

"No, Naruto." Iruka said. "I want you to come with me. We'll go to this little ramen stand. It's usually pretty quiet."

Naruto thought about it for a while, and then nodded.

...

"Ah, Iruka!" The Old Man at Ichiraku's proclaimed, as Iruka stepped inside. "Long time no see!"

"It has been a while." Iruka said, humoring him. "And how are you?" Naruto shuffled awkwardly behind him, and Iruka saw fit to introduce them. "This is Naruto Uzamaki." He said, as he pushed Naruto in front of him. The old man's widened a bit, but he held his smile. "I'm treating him tonight."

"Of course." He said, nodding. "What will it be?"

Before Iruka could place his order, a girl dashed out from behind the stand.

"Iruka!" She snapped, as she rounded about to face them. Naruto thought she looked rather like a giant tiger. "How dare you show your face in here again!"

"Excuse me?" Iruka asked, blinking.

"Ayame..." The old man said, also rather confused. "What are you-"

"You left!" She screeched. "You left us, with a half eaten bowl of ramen!" And she added, almost as an afterthought. "And that girl you were with! She did that too!"

Iruka stared at her.

"Do you know how much work I put into making each bowl as delicious and perfect as possible?" She asked. "Well, that all went to waste, because someone couldn't keep his hands off his date!" She sniffed, as if she thought that ramen was much more important then touching members of the opposite sex. "It was very rude!" She added, as if she hadn't been clear.

"I'm sorry." Iruka said, trying to calm her down. "I-"

"Who's this?" She asked, as she looked over at Naruto. Naruto blushed, and looked down at the ground. Iruka thought he was remembering his encounter with Takako.

"He's a student of mine." Iruka said. "His name is Naruto."

"Hmmm..." She pursed her lips, and Iruka wondered whether she disapproved of Naruto's horrible sense of hygiene. "Well... Umm... That's great." She said. She then looked towards Iruka. "I... Umm... Will make your ramen extra special tonight... so... don't run off on me, again!"

She then retreated to the kitchen, almost as quickly as she had come.

...

The meal was eaten in silence. All throughout, Naruto kept shoveling bowl upon bowl of ramen down his throat. His table manners were atrocious. Ichiraku took it all in stride, perhaps to avoid offending Naruto, and perhaps losing his business. Ayame, on the other hand, did not bother to hide her disgust. She shot Iruka angry looks from time to time, as if it was his fault that Naruto did not understand etiquette.

Iruka cleared his throat, as he pushed his bowl to the side. Watching Naruto had made him lose his appetite. "Naruto?"

Naruto sat the bowl down on the counter as he finished slurping up the noodles. He brought up his hand and wiped his mouth with it before turning to Iruka. "Hm?" He was observing the poster on the inside of the wall of the stand, but he was undoubtedly listening.

"Do you think you could eat more slowly?" Iruka asked, trying to sound polite, yet commanding.

Naruto shook his head, and resumed shoving the ramen down his throat. Iruka stared incredulously at him. "Naruto?"

Naruto licked his lips again before he lowered his bowl. "What?" He snapped. His demeanor and expression had changed so quickly, Iruka was taken back enough to completely lose his train of thought. Naruto glared at him for a few seconds before Iruka recalled what he wanted to say to him.

"Um." After a few seconds of silence, Iruka's train of thought hit him like a train. "Naruto, why are you eating so quickly?"

Naruto glared at him, peeved at the question. "Well, so I can go home!" He snapped. "Besides, I'm hungry and I don't want anyone to take my food, so leave me alone!"

Iruka sat baffled as Naruto returned to sloppily shoving noodles down his throat. "Take?" He asked blankly. "No one here will steal your food."

Naruto did not look up. He was ignoring him.

"You sure do eat a lot, boy." Ichiraku chuckled. Perhaps it was experience in the restaurant business, but he was nowhere near as disgusted with display as his daughter was. He had probably seen worse, Iruka thought with horror.

Iruka was the sort of person who liked to take time over meals, and he often spent his time in this stand chatting with the owners or other customers. However, keeping an eye on the extremely irritable Naruto was proving itself to be quite a challenge.

Iruka had enough. The instant Naruto slurped up his last noodle, he stood up, his own bowl sitting mostly untouched. "Come on, Naruto. We're leaving."

Naruto sat staring at the bowl for a moment before getting up and following Iruka out into the street.

"How'd you like your meal, Naruto?" Iruka asked amicably as they walked down the street. It was dark now, but there were still older Ninja and civilians walking around with friends. Several teenagers were leaning against buildings, passing bottles around and swapping lies about how much sex they were having.

"It was good." Naruto said quietly. It may have been dark, but there were still lots of people wandering around. He looked frightened, as if any one of these people could suddenly grow fangs and attack. "It's better than the instant stuff I have at home."

Iruka nodded. As a genin, he was no stranger to sparse meals, although those days were long behind him due to his promotion and moderately well paying occupation. Eating out was a privilege that he enjoyed immensely.

Naruto looked around anxiously as he trailed after Iruka, one hand on the back of his jack, clinging tight. His other hand was resting against his face, balled into a small fist. "Can't we move a little faster?" He asked. He sounded absolutely pitiful.

Iruka turned to look at him, and frowned slightly. It was a sort of a paradox. On one hand Naruto needed to be out in public to get over his fear of other people, but if Iruka forced him to stay out here with him, Naruto may decide that he was being mistreated, and become uncooperative.

"Can you jump, Naruto?" Iruka asked, without really thinking. Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"Are you strong enough to jump on the roof tops?" Iruka clarified, looking down at him. "I know you were at the Academy for a while. Can you manage it?"

Naruto stared at Iruka, and Iruka noticed that with some curiosity that his face seemed completely blank. No emotion could be seen in his features, as his gaze focused on Iruka's nose.

"I was never at any Academy." Naruto said. His voice was chilling, but sounded oddly rehearsed. He had said this before. "Ninja are scum and parasites. I hate them, and I therefore have nothing to do with them."

Iruka stared at Naruto incredulously for a few moments, trying to get his bearings. "But Naruto," he said, not pausing to think. "I am a Ninja."

"That is why I don't like you." Naruto proclaimed.

Iruka could not help but stare at Naruto, who was staring blankly into nothing. How could he had said something like that?

"I thought we were friends, Naruto." Iruka said, slowly, his mind racing. "I thought you were starting to like my visits."

Naruto scratched his nose, his expression suddenly took on a more confused tone. "I- Uh." He said. His previous coldness was gone. Now he seemed nothing more like a confused child. Then suddenly, he seemed to leap up, as If he had found something to say.

"I would have!" He said. "But you're a Ninja, and I hate ninjas."

Iruka's gaze hardened. "Naruto, Why are-"

"You know…" he said softly, as he looked to the ground. "Do you think that allowing myself to believe something that I know isn't true to be a bad thing?"

"What?" Iruka asked, completely flabbergasted. "Naruto, what are you saying?"

"But no!" Naruto said, his attitude flaring up. "Temptation is great, yes, but allowing yourself to admit your flaws is something to push yourself to… Isn't it?" He took on that bemused expression again, tilting his head to the side.

"I hate Ninjas." Naruto said, quickly. It was like Iruka wasn't even there, Naruto seemed to be doing little but voicing his own thoughts. "I should hate all Ninjas." His face suddenly twisted into anger, and Iruka was shocked by the rage those bright blue eyes contained. "Especially ones who betray my interests!"

He was rambling, that much was certain. Passerby were beginning to stop and stare, but Iruka could not move. Part of it was the shock of the whole event, but Iruka could not help but wonder if listening to Naruto was saying.

"I shouldn't be such a weak person." Naruto said, his eyes shooting back and forth. "I should never have gone out this early, People are always looking at me, and oh my how I hate it, it makes me feel so bad, like I'm the worst thing to ever happen, and that ramen girl was cute but why didn't she treat me with respect why did she hate me and why was she treating him badly just because I was there what kind of person does that sort of thing I feel so bad why am I so ugly why do people know I suck just by looking at me why can't I just stay home and never ever leave-"

All of a sudden, his expression relaxed.

"Home." He said simply. "The full box set of the third season of 'Shinobu Powers' should be coming in soon. Leaf and Cloud will fight, and it will be awesome. And I still have to finish 'Pirates No More' and 'Kishimato the Avenger.' Then I still have my new system, and so many games to play."

His expression suddenly hardened.

"But I have no money! They don't give me enough to buy everything I want…"

Just as suddenly, his face relaxed.

"But I can make do. The hard part of buying the system is over, and now I can go back to my old saving methods. That'll get everything I need…"

"Naruto?" Iruka asked, trying to get his attention. "Naruto?"

But Naruto was off in his own little world. He walked off into the street, still chattering hopeful things to himself in a clearer manner then the usual reserved tone he took. "That Statue nearly had me, but if I can just focus, I can take him!"

It was not until that he was out of sight that it became apparent that allowing Naruto to walk home by himself was not a good idea. Iruka quickly jumped onto the roof of the nearest building, and quickly located Naruto walking along the path to him. His voice was audible enough to make out from the roof top.

As Iruka crouched and watched him walk, he spotted three teenagers standing on the roof top next to him, watching Naruto with wide grins on their faces. One leaned over and whispered to another, and the latter let out a quick guffaw as he reached into his satchel and pulled out a kunai.

Iruka watched in horror as the knife left the boy's hand and began flying towards Naruto. Quickly, he reached for his own knife to knock the blade out of the air, but before he could ready his arm, the knife had soared right past Naruto's face and embedded itself into a nearby stall.

Naruto had not even blinked, he had kept on walking. He had surely not noticed a thing, but this street was illuminated by many lanterns, and all the other townspeople did. It did not matter how good one was with a knife, throwing them around the village proper was going to get innocent people killed.

Iruka dashed over to where the boys where standing, only to find the awestruck.

"He didn't even flinch!" The boy who had whispered to the kunai thrower exclaimed.

"Crazy. " The third boy said, nodding.

"Come on, maybe if we catch him again-"

"What are you three up to?" Iruka snarled, as he made his presence known.

"Ah!" The Knife thrower screeched, as he ducked and covered his head. "Don't hurt me!"

"Iruka." The third boy said, coldly.

"Why did you do that?" Iruka demanded. "That was a flagrant violation of our village's laws!"

"It was just a joke!" The Whisperer wailed. "He was… Crazy, and we thought we could…"

"That joke almost got a boy killed." Iruka said. "Give me your identification. I will report this to the Hokage."

As the boys miserably handed over their proof of citizenship, Iruka bade them a good night and went off to find Naruto. It was getting late, and Iruka wondered whether he was still awake as he approached the front door.

"Hello?" He said, as he knocked the door. "Naruto, are you there?"

After a few moments of silence, the door slowly opened to reveal Naruto, who was looking wide eyed and alert.

"Hey, Iruka." He said. "Why are you here?"

These personality shifts were sudden, to the point of being incredibly disturbing. Naruto seemed almost friendly now, certainly the nicest Iruka had ever seen him.

"Naruto, I just came in to check in on you. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I loved the ramen." Naruto said, as he scratched his nose.

"Naruto…" Iruka was honestly not sure of what to ask him about. His hatred of Ninja? His outbursts? But only one question seemed to bug Iruka above all others.

"Naruto, do you like me?"

"Of course." Naruto said, without hesitating. "Why wouldn't I?"

"But a few minutes ago, you said-"

"Thanks for the meal, Iruka, but if you don't mind, I want some time to myself now."

Naruto made to shut the door, but Iruka stepped forward and put used his foot as a door block. "Naruto, why don't you like Ninjas?"

Naruto stared at him. "Cause they're mean to me. Night."

"Naruto," Iruka tried again, "Why don't you want to become a Ninja?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked at Iruka and cocked his head to the side. "It's boring!" He proclaimed.

Iruka looked at him. "Naruto. I'm serious."

"No, really!" He said earnestly. "It was dull, and no fun at all." He scratched his nose again, and looked down at the ground. "Can you move? I want this door shut."

"What'd you hate about it Naruto?" Iruka asked. He was beginning to become impatient. However, Iruka needed the boy to reveal his thoughts.

"The people!" He said, quickly. "Yeah, I've always hated those-"

"The people?" Iruka asked, blankly. "You mean your teachers?"

"Oh yeah, every single one." Naruto said, nodding.

"Why?"

Naruto's mood changed in an instant. Gone was the unusual cheer and friendliness, and now the boy looked sullen, yet somehow thoughtful.

"I… don't really remember." He said slowly, tilting his head to the left.

"How can you hate something that you don't fully understand, Naruto?" Iruka asked, making sure that his voice was slow and clear.

"I used to hate it…." Naruto muttered. "But why can I not…?" He started mumbling to himself as he started to scratch the skin behind his left hand. "There should be a reason, should there not?" He said aloud, as he looked upwards. "there's a reason for everything after all."

"I think you were way too young to be in the Academy." Iruka said. "And the workload was too much for you."

Naruto let out a huge, long yawn and looked around. "No." He said. "I'm the same person I was then. People don't change."

He said this as if it were something he believed in absolutely, that should not, or even could not be questioned. His filthy face shined with an odd fire, that refused to be put out. That sort of passion Iruka had seen only once, while they were playing Naruto's games. This was the determined side of Naruto, the one who arranged his life to deal with the least amount of people possible in order to live in solitude, simply because that's what he wanted.

"Naruto, what are your plans for money?" Iruka asked, on a whim.

Naruto blinked. "Money…?"

Iruka nodded. Naruto sat silently. After a few moments, he spoke.

"I'm taken care of by the state." He said. "They'll take care of my needs."

"No, Naruto." Iruka corrected him. "The arrangement you have with our government will expire the instant you become an adult. Either that is when you reach your sixteenth birthday, or when you become a ninja."

"What!" Naruto exploded, shock and rage clear in his features. "They can't do that! No… I need that money! I can't-"

"You should keep in mind, Naruto." Iruka said. "That you are not taken care of by Konoha because you are special and need different accomadations then other children, but because you are an orphan with no relatives or family friends to care for you. And that will lead to the termination of your funds."

"No…." Naruto whimpered, as he stepped back into his apartment. "That can't be true!"

Iruka opened the door and stepped inside, glaring at Naruto's shivering body. "Yes, Naruto." He said. It was clear that Naruto was emotionally affected by this news. "You will lose your stipend, which will cost you this apartment, and everything in it."

Naruto wailed, but Iruka ignored him and chose to plow forward. "There is a way you can get through this, however."

Naruto dried his eyes and looked up at Iruka hopefully. "Really!" He asked, awestruck. His mouth was hanging open, and Iruka caught of glimpse of his disgusting teeth before making it a point to look away.

"Yes." Iruka nodded. "Train to become a Ninja."

"A… Ninja?" Naruto asked. He seemed not as hateful at the term as usual, as he looked interested. "But you said… that the government will pull my stipend…"

"Ah, yes. My mistake. If you do become a Ninja, it is the policy of the state to care for Orphans directly in their service. It is my understanding that if you were to join the forces of the Leaf, your monthly stipend will increase."

Naruto sat wide eyed as Iruka mentioned the numerous benefits of becoming a Shinobi of Konaha, such as better health care, discounts at certain shops, and-

"Bonuses." Iruka said. "After every mission, you will be awarded with cash that goes directly into your pocket, that you can spend as you wish."

"That means… No more… No more… Embexlement?"

"Embesllement, yes." Iruka said, smiling slightly. "Better living comes first, but you can use your mission bonuses to fund your hobbies, if you like."

"This sounds amazing." Naruto breathed. "If I do this… then… I'll go back on everything I've ever said about being a ninja… I'll do it!" he blurted.

Hard work was ahead of him, but Iruka decided to let that bombshell fall tomorrow.

…

A/N: Hey all, my deepest apologies. I was really hoping to post this chapter before my month long hiatus so I could explain exactly why I had dropped off the face of the earth, but I was incredibly busy with my life's passion.

Tennis.

With my help, our team has crushed the No . 8 team in the State and are playing our cross town rivals this weekend. We are very able of taking the sectional title, and I must do my best. Tennis has taken over my life right now, as I am either playing tennis or training to play tennis later with absolutely no time for writing anything. Even my original novel has been set aside untouched for over a month.

And also, there's a girl involved, but that's a given.

But the season is nearly over, and I've gotten back into the groove of writing again. I'm trying to improve my typing skills so I can crank out longer chapters in shorter periods of time, I'm trying to improve my prose, I'm going to have to read more for inspiration (J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, I can't wait to get my hands on it!) I've been working to schedule times I should write so I can always put a few thousand words down, and I've been working on my characterization of my characters.

When I started this story, I was trying to set out to do something different and inspire writers on the site to think more creatively. My writing is bland and rather dull compared to many others, but I make up for it by actually coming up with original ideas. It seems to be working, as many reviewers have pointed out. Thank you!

I don't like to talk about the story itself in my Author's notes, as I have noticed that many good authors have ruined their own stories by posting snide hints about what's to come months or even years before that stuff is even put on paper, but I will say that things will not follow the Naruto canon much at all.

The story has, I felt, been dragging on for a while. I am considered deleting this version and simply making chapters 1-5 one chapter, which I think will help the pacing of the story.

Other then that though, I'm pleased with the effort I've put into this project. It has weak spots, sure, but that's my own fault, and I can learn to correct that.

I'm at school as I type this, with it's naughty filter system, so you will not see this until I get home and update it. It's a shame… But maybe for the best?

Updates once a week are a possibility, but right now I'm going for once every two weeks. My reasoning is that the chapters will be longer and more polished if I have time to look over them.

One last thing, I will be publishing Omakes occasionally. Usually, they will be ideas I had for the story that were scrapped.

Thank you all. Have a nice night.


End file.
